Be Cool; We are Us!

There's nothing to worry about; who you are is who you are, although it's up to you to figure out who that is. There are certain caveats: no refunds or exchanges, batteries not included, not available in stores, and product may not match picture on box.

Here is a book to cheer you up on a rainy day, or when you can't have any chocolate cake because it's not good for you. The skits read very well, even without the visuals, although a few are included.

Among my favorites, the parrot sketch, and the Mr. Hitler sketch: (landlady to Mr. Hitler) "Oh, lucky Mr Johnson pointed that out. You wouldn't have had much fun in Stalingrad, would you? Ha ha."

I wonder if anything like Monty Python could ever happen again; their sort of humor is certainly needed in this age of angry blow-hards.

Here is a chocolate milkshake from chefmom.sheknows.com. This would be good on a warm summer's day, on route 66, in a Corvette, or on any other day, at home or in the office.

Here's a chocolate malted from prevention.com. This would be good before or after the milkshake, although I'm sure the author of this recipe would advise you against such a feast, in the interest of surviving yet another day.

And here's a picture of a vampire bat from National Geographic--isn't it cute!

Vlid Wonderbeak, Virtual Mayor of Toronto

Some scientists have speculated that our universe and everything in it, including us, is just information--a sort of hologram made up of data. If that's the case, there's no need for virtual identities; we already have those.

But who makes the operating system for this holographic universe, and what happens if there's a glitch? Or, just as evil, what happens if there's a celestial power failure, and the operators don't have backup batteries for their system. Is there a virtual afterlife? A place for the ghosts of ghosts? A sort of cached world, where pale shadows of shadowy entities eke out an existence based on memories?

I designed a new cover for 'The Prey', and here it is, live on Amazon's Kindle store, where the price remains at an exorbitant $1.98. So there you have it.

Anyway, here's some chocolate, courtesy of sanfranciscosentinel.com. Chocolate is always a welcome guest, friendly and considerate, a cheery sight at any time, unless, of course, you're trying to lose weight or lead a healthy life based on nutritious rutabagas.

Here, from those friendly people at Ontario's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, is a field of rutabagas. No one can say this blog isn't chock-full of health and nutrition, and thoughts about vegetables!

And here is a picture of some gears, in case you want to build something with moving parts.

No worries.

Invasion of the Zombie Bankers

If you want to maintain control over an unruly populace, then you must play off one group against another. So make friends with a zombie, or at the very least, turn one of your friends into a zombie; you never know when you might need a little help from the undead.

Here, from  365halloween.com, is a recipe for gingerbread zombie cookies, which would go well with a chocolate bar, or even two chocolate bars.

And here, from joyofcakes.co.uk, is a cake made of chocolate fingers, which, I suppose, implies the existence of chocolate zombies.

If you want information about real zombies and the culture that supports them, you might find this book very interesting. Davis takes an anthropologist's approach, looking closely at the people involved, at their beliefs and practices, and at the substances used to produce the zombie effect.

Here is a picture of the command deck of a steam engine.

Steam engines, like zombies, are among the undead. Unlike zombies, however, steam engines are cute.

That was a Different Haggis

Food can be dangerous. I, myself, have been haunted by turnips and cabbages on many a dire occasion, only to be snatched from the jaws of Chaos and Terror by SUPER CHOCO BUNNY.
Here's one of his minions.

Speaking of chocolate, some of you may have heard of a thing called a deep-fried Mars Bar, which seems to have originated in Scotland. Here's a picture of one, and a write-up, by Anne, who lives in "Glasgow with her other half, our two wee boys (9 and 4), one cat (10) and some tropical fish." 


Anne seems to have enjoyed the deep-fried bar, and she obviously lived through the experience, or we wouldn't have her write-up.


Meanwhile, keep a close eye on any haggises you might have adopted recently; they like to hide in closets and under beds.


Time to visit far-away places with strange sounding names.
Scotland is calling....